EasyBib vs Formatly: Which Fits Your Workflow

EasyBib, now owned by Chegg, is one of the most well-known citation tools on the market. It's free for basic use and popular among high school and college students. But as academic requirements become more demanding, many users find EasyBib's limitations frustrating. ## What EasyBib Offers EasyBib provides: - Citation generation in APA, MLA, and Chicago - A simple web-based interface - Browser extension for capturing source information - Grammar checking (premium) - Plagiarism detection (premium) ## EasyBib's Critical Limitations ### APA 7th Edition Support EasyBib was slow to adopt APA 7th edition rules. Many users reported citation errors during the transition period that affected their grades. ### No Document Formatting EasyBib generates citations and bibliographies but does not format your actual paper. You still need to manually handle margins, spacing, headings, title pages, and all other formatting requirements. ### No Cross-Style Conversion Once you've generated citations in APA, you cannot convert them to MLA or Chicago. If your instructor changes the style requirement, you start over. ### Citation Errors EasyBib's automatic citation generation has documented accuracy issues, particularly with non-standard sources like government reports, conference papers, and multimedia. ### Premium Pricing Advanced features require a paid subscription, and the free version includes advertisements. ## Formatly's Advantage Formatly provides complete document formatting, not just citations. Upload your document, choose your style, and receive a fully formatted paper with tracked changes in approximately 30 seconds. ## The Verdict EasyBib is adequate for simple citation needs. Formatly is a comprehensive formatting solution that handles everything from citations to final document presentation. For students who need proper formatting that passes instructor review, Formatly is the superior choice.